Law Firm IT

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection 2 is now out of beta

2008-07-01T20:37:00.001-04:00

The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection 2 is now out of beta.

This is news that is certain to make Mac based Windows Admins (of which I am one) very happy: Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection 2 is finally out of beta. The final release includes all the new features that Microsoft added, some of the highlights include:

* The ability to open multiple instances of Remote Desktop without resorting to a hack (though I do believe that each connection spawns a new instance of the app itself).
* Redesigned UI
* Support for Network Level Authentication (which makes connections more secure)

You can get more info about this release from the MacBU blog post.

Practice Management goes Web 2.0

2008-06-26T13:13:00.003-04:00

Practice Management moves into the cloud with a product called clio. The service is currently in private beta. Depending on the level of service you sign up for, clio offers client and file management, timesheet and activity tracking time reporting and exporting, performance analysis and reporting, calendaring and reminders, multi-user access, SSL encryption and secured data storage, client billing and invoice generation, and document management.

LEXBLOG soft launches LexMonitor

2008-06-22T18:00:00.001-04:00

LEXBLOG has soft launched LexMonitor, a US blawg portal, according LEXBLOG chief Kevin O'Keefe on Real Lawyers Have Blogs.

Pulling from nearly 2,000 sources and 5,000 authors, LexMonitor will hopefully shine a light on the ongoing conversation among thought leaders in the law for the benefit of the legal profession and the public at large.

SolarWinds Free Exchange Monitor

2008-06-13T23:51:00.001-04:00

I've downloaded and installed SolarWinds Exchange Monitor yesterday. It works great. Is anyone else using any of the SolarWind products?

iPhone 3G: What we didn't get

2008-06-10T21:28:00.001-04:00

This piece is more about the consumer end of things that the enterprise. I still would like copy and paste. I'm sure we would all find it useful. The lack of MMS really doesn't bother me. I think developers might be able to fill some of these gaps.

Apple iPhone Enterprise Integration

2008-06-09T22:53:00.001-04:00

Apple has posted a page that details enterprise integration. Included is a pdf that details step by step directions on how to implement Exchange ActiveSync Setup. ActiveSync for the iPhone is supported on Exchange 2003 and 2007. We will all have to wait for the iPhone 2.0 software to be released before we can begin testing.

Yes there is a $200 iPhone but...

2008-06-09T18:02:00.001-04:00

TechCrunch reports, "Unlimited data plans for iPhone 3G customers will be $30/month while business users will have to pony up $45/month."

This is in line with the current Blackberry data plans. It is also unclear if you need the new iPhone 3G to use the business plan, or if you can use it on edge what the cost will be.

Apple said to release enterprise iPhone software on Monday

2008-06-07T16:17:00.001-04:00

It has been reported in various places that Apple will release the enterprise software that will let the iPhone work with Exchange in the same way that Blackberry BES does now. With that said IT departments should expect a flood of questions who currently own or plan to buy iPhones.

Windows XP SP3 breaks some routers

2008-06-07T16:08:00.001-04:00

Broadband modem/router maker Billion says XP SP3 causes it's BiPAC 5200-series of routers to constantly crash and reboot.

A graph of where spam, viruses and worms come from

2008-06-01T21:12:00.000-04:00

They come from these countries.

Live from D: Gates and Ballmer preview Windows 7

2008-05-27T21:57:00.001-04:00

Live from D: Gates and Ballmer debut Windows 7 - Engadget

I'm not sure if they will tell us anything, but it will be interesting to watch.

Leaked Screen Shots of Windows 7

2008-05-27T19:04:00.000-04:00

This leaked screen shots of Windows 7 concerns me. For those of us that skipped Vista in hopes that Microsoft would deliver a usable OS in Windows 7, there seems to be too much eye candy with superfluous processes, like a weather report, running in the task bar.

I still hold some hope that will deliver an OS close to the simple, usable design of Server 2008, which has been my favorite version of Windows Server so far, and not more crap like Vista.

More on the $199 iPhone

2008-05-01T20:16:00.002-04:00

$199 iPhone is cool, but possibly imaginary. MacWorld weighs in.

Hope for XP extension?

2008-05-01T07:27:00.000-04:00

Ballmer offers glimmer of hope for XP extension but, "Later on Thursday, however, a U.S.-based spokeswoman for the company said that Microsoft's plans remain 'unchanged.'"

I think there is a lot of wishful thinking going on from consumers. If MS does give an extension, they won't announce it until the last minute.

$199 iPhones?

2008-05-01T07:10:00.001-04:00

Fortune reports AT&T plans to reduce the cost by chipping in $200.00 on each iPhone sold.

When the 3G iPhone is introduced this summer, AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone sales partner with Apple, will cut the price by as much as $200, according to a person familiar with the strategy.

AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of a new iPhone, bringing the price down to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, the source says. Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499.

AT&T and Apple declined to comment.

It would be nice, but AT&T is already losing money on the iPhone. I guess we will find out in June.

Your help desk career: Dead end or launching pad?

2008-05-01T06:33:00.000-04:00

Help Desk: Dead end or launching pad?

In my opinion every admin should have experience working with end users.

Because Tuesday is Black Tuesday

2008-03-10T22:22:00.001-04:00

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for March 2008

US Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend

2008-03-08T03:19:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder this is the weekend that Daylight Savings Time starts in the US at 02:00 local time Sunday morning. This is the time change where we set our clocks one hour ahead, and we lose an hour.

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. Under the old system DST would have started this weekend. Next week we gain an additional week of DST under Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Microsoft and other software vendors recommend you pay close attention to your calendar doing this extending DST period. Problems with other nonrecurring events might still happen.

iPhone Enterprise Features Comming in June

2008-03-06T15:31:00.002-05:00

The new features include:

- Push email
- Push calendar
- Push contacts
- Global address list
- Certificates and Identities
- WPA2 / 802.1x
- Enforced security policies
- Device configuration
- Remote wipe
- Active Sync and Microsoft Exchange support

There is a beta program, but you must apply and meet the requirements.

“iPhone Software Roadmap” Event March 6th

2008-02-27T20:48:00.003-05:00

Date Apple has set March 6th for the “iPhone Software Roadmap” event. Along with a peek at the iPhone SDK, Apple promises “new enterprise features”.

I hope they announce full Microsoft Exchange support. Many attorneys I talk to say they would dump their Blackberrys for iPhones, if the iPhone has email push and would sync with their Exchange calendars and contacts.

Windows Server 2008

2008-02-27T20:37:00.002-05:00

Windows Server 2008 was officially launched today.

Whether IT admins follow along with Microsoft's reasoning is, of course, another matter. But Server 2008 certainly contains desirable features in its own right. Server Core is a new installation option that enables Windows Server 2008 to be deployed in a cut-down mode to serve one of eight specific server roles: file, print, DNS, DHCP, Active Directory, LDAP, virtualization, and web (IIS); there is also a ninth streaming media server role that is an optional download.

Server Core mode omits much of the GUI and interactive parts of the OS, as well as those services not essential to the chosen role. Management of Server Core systems will be remote, typically through MMC. In this first version of the functionality, some of those roles may be a little too cut-down; the web server mode lacks .NET (and hence ASP.NET), and since ASP.NET is one of IIS's major features, its omission may prove a little hard to stomach. The other options are more appealing, and they should be very welcome for administrators looking to streamline resource usage and cut down attack surface area.

Hyper-V, the new virtualization platform, isn't actually finished yet; it's still in beta, with a final release expected within 180 days. It's also an optional feature; you can save about $28 from the license fee by opting to eschew it, and it'll be available to purchase—for about $28—if you wish to add it to a non-Hyper-V version later on. Hyper-V uses the virtualization features on Intel and AMD processors (64-bit only) to, in principle, provide high-performance reliable virtualization.

The version of Windows 2008 server I played with looks very promising.

What's the deal RIM?

2008-02-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

While the Great Blackberry Outage of 2008^TM is over, most people are left to wonder what the problem is at RIM. Bloomberg reports:

"Research In Motion Ltd. said that a disruption in its Blackberry e-mail service in North America was ``fully and quickly'' restored and no messages were lost.

``It was pretty focused and isolated and we recovered well,'' Co-Chief Executive Officer James Balsillie said in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. ``We apologize for any inconvenience.''

My first question is where are these emails that news outlet keep taking about. I've never gotten one, and my firm is a BES customer.

My second question is how much can we trust RIM to provide key services when we have seen outages time after time. I just glad that my iPhone can do IMAP to my firm's Exchange server.

Microsoft is set to push IE 7 out via WSUS on Tuesday

2008-02-09T20:31:00.000-05:00

From a technet update email

Volume 10, Issue 3: February 6, 2008

"On February 12, 2008 Microsoft will release the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability update to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability Update is a complete installation package that will upgrade machines running Internet Explorer 6 to Windows Internet Explorer 7. Customers who have configured WSUS to "auto-approve" Update Rollup packages will automatically upgrade machines running Internet Explorer 6 to Windows Internet Explorer 7 after February 12, 2008 and consequently, may want to read Knowledge Base article 946202 to manage how and when this update is installed. For more on the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability Update, read Knowledge Base article 940767."

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for February 2008

2008-02-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for February 2008

Microsoft has listed seven critical updates, and five important updates that will be released next Tuesday.

Disable or turn off UAC in Windows Vista

2007-11-22T07:35:00.000-05:00

How to disable or turn off UAC in Windows Vista.

The feature was put in to place to prevent unwanted applications, such as viruses and spyware, from self-installing onto the operating system. That’s great, but does one really need to enter a password or click OK every time they want to open a Control Panel applet? That’s a bit annoying, especially if you like to customize and configure your computer the way you want.

However, disabling UAC altogether is not the best idea in the world. It’s amazing how many times spyware installs itself when you are browsing the Internet or when you insert a floppy disk or USB stick into your computer. So how does one not getting annoyed all the time, but still protect their computers?

TweakUAC is a freeware application that you can run on Windows Vista to control how User Account Control (UAC) works. You can set it to Turn Off UAC, Turn On UAC, or put UAC into Quiet mode.

You will need to disable UAC to run ProLaw in Vista.